Echoes of Insanity
by Mayonaka no Sasayaki
Summary: Isolation for any amount of time is capable of raising multiple disorders. A look inside of Yami-no-Yuugi's seemingly stable mind


Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters

Summary: Isolation for any amount of time is capable of raising multiple disorders. A look inside of Yami-no-Yuugi's seemingly stable mind

Warning(s): Severe or somewhat fictional case of Autophobia and Hubris

Notes: Konnichiwa, minna-san! This is my very first Yu-Gi-Oh story, so I hope you will enjoy it! Before that however, I would like to give special thanks to my beta, Dreamer of Legends! Minna-san please give this woderful writer a big round of applause. Dreamer-san couldn't done it without you. Yosh! Lets get this show on the road!

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** Echoes of Insanity**

By

_ Mayonaka no Sasayaki_

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_…Breathe in…  
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Just because he was a confident young man up front, that didn't necessarily mean he was as confident on the inside.  
To most, he was regal, fearless, and at times a little too arrogant. And while he does have those qualities that most would associate him with, they never knew how much effort it took on his part to be seen as such.  
Many times he found himself wavering, not because he was a coward by any means, which would be the furthest from his manner as one could ever get. No, there was no doubt of his courage; he would do practically anything to protect his loved ones. Of course, that's where most of his concern originated from.  
He would never admit it out loud, but he knows and remembers quite vividly how many times he was willing to kill those that would harm his loved ones. Their punishments had ranged from mentally, by using his mind crush, to physically burning them alive. All with a straight face, or at times, even laughing at their foolishness with the utmost glee. He found himself sickened just by thinking about it.

_…Breathe out…  
_  
He had struggled, worked hard to keep everything at bay. Over time, his uncontrollable bloodlust faded into nothing more than a strong desire to keep everything and everyone safe from harm; however that too, began to evolve into something a bit more… unhealthy.  
Without realizing it, that very desire became an obsession that stemmed from the more unstable traits of his personality. Losing everything once had been more than enough to drive him into madness. However, never did he notice that because of his obsession, he became fatally prideful whenever he was pushed into a corner. It was only because of the constant support of his friends, sheer stubbornness, and a bit of luck that was thrown in, that he managed to get this far. He thought it would be enough to anchor him… He thought wrong.

_…Breathe in…  
_  
His desire to win was not for petty reasons. In fact, it was nothing more than a simple reasoning in his fractured mind. If he wins, his loved ones are safe from harm. If he loses however, he fears that he will lose everything once more. Time after time, his enemies threaten his position as a protector, but no matter how strong they are, he always wins against them. The side effect however, was that overtime he suffered from being hubristic or fatally prideful when it came to making hasty decisions. Adding to the fact that he and the others have to face this ancient and ridiculously strong opponent made his paranoia increase to new heights, which led his natural defense mechanism to be set in place. Truthfully, it only started as a mask, a tool to hide what truly lay hidden beneath it.  
Ironically, it was his own carelessness and headstrong personality that caused said mask, and all the effort behind it, to crumble. Never in his life (or afterlife, whichever you prefer to see it) had he ever been shaken so terribly. Raphael had struck a nerve when he had reminded him of his lack of footing when it came to his memories. His reckless judgement and one-track mind to win had been his ultimate downfall. Now he was left to face the consequences, and never would he ever have imagined that the price would be so unbearably high.

_…Breathe out…  
_  
He knew without a doubt that he was slowly losing it. One of the main anchors to his sanity had been forcefully taken away from him. The young boy with a kind soul unlike any other, that had, overtime, become his best friend, his brother, was _gone_. All because of his fatal pride and fear. His control was rapidly slipping without the warm support of his partner. Knowing that his absence was because of his mistake was truly the final straw leading him to lose his desperate control over his already fragile mentality.

_…Breathe in…_

He didn't notice his loss of balance as his shaking form leaned against the dinner table of the RV, nor could he find himself to care. While usually calm about the problems that had appeared ever since his awakening, he would be lying if he said it wasn't a huge burden that was placed on his shoulders. At the time it hadn't really bothered him, but this time however… this time it was entirely different. This was a terrifying nightmare that was made into reality, one that he didn't know how to wake from.

_…Breathe out…_

His vision was rapidly darkening, his thoughts were in a jumbled mess, his breathing was ragged and heavy. But somehow though, his haze filled mind registered the dull pain when his body surrendered itself and dropped unceremoniously to the vehicle floor. Before he let himself fade into unconsciousness he faintly heard voices expressing their concern over his prone form. Soon however, that too faded, as he finally fell into the blackness of his mind.

_…Breathe…_

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_Sasayaki: Please review! And no, flames are not accepted!  
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